Sheet separating device



J. .1. SCHULZE SHEET SEPARATING DEVICE Filed Aug. 28, 1953 i i I I I 3/3! INVENTOR.

JOHN J. SHULZE AT TORNE Y United States Patent OfiFice latented Oct. 9,1956 2,766,044 SHEET SEPARATIN G DEVICE John J. :Schulze, ProspectHeights, 11]., vassignor to Charles Bruning Company, Inc., Teterboro, N.J., a comma tion of New York Application August 28, 1956, Serial No.377,089 Claims. ,(Cl. 271-48) in face-to-face relation through machinessuch for example as printing or duplicating machines.

In photoprinting machines and the like, such as machines for developingand printing papers having lightsensitive emulsions on one surface, thesubject to be printed, usually a tracing, islplaced on the emulsion sideOne object of the present invention therefore, is to provide improvedapparatus for separating superimposed sheets.

straddle the feed belt and which carry sheet-engaging discs, preferablyformed of a relatively high friction material such as rubber. The discsof one of the rotor assemblies are arranged to project through thespaces their peripheries.

imposed sheets S1 and S2,

discs which will the its movement through the printing roller endlessfeed belt 15 which is pref- 15 (Figure 2) between each which maycomprise the tracing paper and printing paper respectively, are placed.A suitable guide 23 including rollers 24 and and 28 disposedrespectively above and belt 15 to define a sheet-receiving channel.

may conveniently be incorporated with the feed roller 18, includes aseries of annular sheet-engaging members which may take the form ofdiscs which turn with the roller 18 and which are The shafts 18 and 30are each driven in a clockwise so that the discs 29 and direction asviewed in Figure l 31 at their overlapping peripheries will be movingin' opposite directions, the peripheries of the lowermost discs 31moving counter to the direction of movement of the feed belt and theperipheries of the upper discs 2 moving in the same direction as thebelt. The roller 18 may either be driven by the belt or itself driven todrive the belt.

The advancing superimposed sheets, assuming they have not been separatedwhen they reach channel defined by the rotor assemblies 27 and 28, willfirst be disengaged from the under surface of the feed belt by means ofthe discs 29 and forced against the discs 31. Thus the discs 29 willengage the upper surface of the upper sheet S to apply frictional forcesin the direction of feeding movement whereas the discs 31 will engagethe lower surface of the lower sheet S1 to apply frictional forces inthe opposite direction. In this fashion the tracing will be rubbed freeof the printing paper and will be rejected by the rotor will be passedthrough the rotor assemblies due to the pushing force of the feed beltrearwardly of the point of separation and the feeding force of the discs29. The frictional opposition of the lower discs 31 will be insufficientto overcome these forces.

The rejected sheet Si will assume the successive positions shown bydotted lines in Figure l, and will ultimately drop into a receiving tray32 from which it may be removed by the operator. The sheet S2, as bestseen in Figure 2, will be corrugated or ribbed by means of theintermeshing discs 29 and 31 so that its leading edge is cantileveredoutwardly. A certain rigidity will be imparted thereto which will enableit to hold its substantially horizontal position until such time as theair currents which hold it against the feed belt 15 at an earlier stage,are again able to press it against a stationary plate 33 at the infeedend of a second feed belt 34 which will serve to draw the trailing endof the sheet S2 through the rotor assemblies and carry the sheet to adeveloping stage (not shown). The sheet may if desired be dischargedfrom the machine at the output side of the rotor assemblies.

A preliminary or first sheet separating stage may be provided toseparate the sheets, when possible, before the sheet separating rotors27 and 28 come into play. This primary arrangement may take the form ofan air jet 35 (Figure l) issuing from nozzle means 36 and directed atthe advancing edges of the superimposed sheets as they emerge from thetop of the printing cylinder 12. This jet may be formed generally inaccordance with the disclosure of the pending U. S. application SerialNo. 287,- 465, filed May 13, 1952. In accordance with the presentinvention this jet nozzle means 36 may be located behind the rotorassemblies 27 and 28 in the direction of movement of the feed belt sothat the air jets may pass between the shafts 18 and 30, and between thespaced discs 29 and 30 before meeting the advancing sheets. Thus thenozzle means 36 will be out of the way in the event the rotor assemblies27 and 28 come into play, i. e., it will not interfere with the sheet S1dropping into the receiving tray 32. Furthermore, it will blow againstthe underside of the sheet S1 as it bellies downwardly as indicated indotted lines in Figure 1, thereby to assist the discs 31 to separate thesheets.

While the invention has been described above with specific reference toa preferred embodiment, it will be understood that the invention maytake other forms and be applied to other environments. The inventionshould not, therefore, be regarded as limited except as defined by thefollowing claims.

I claim:

1. A sheet separating device for separating a pair of superimposedsheets advancing edgewise, a first series of laterally spaced annularsheet-engaging members mounted to engage one surface of the advancingsuperimposed sheets, a second series of sheet-engaging membersassemblies while the printing paper mounted to engage the other surfaceof the superimposed sheets, and means to rotate at least one series ofsheetengaging members with components of motion, at their points ofengagement with the sheet, which are in alignment with the direction ofadvancing movement of the sheets, the first and second series ofsheet-engaging members overlapping and the members of the first seriesbeing those of the second series.

2. A sheet separating device for separating a pair of superimposedsheets advancing edgewise, a first series of laterally spaced annularsheet-engaging members mounted to engage one surface of the advancingsuperimposed sheets, a second series of sheet-engaging members mountedto engage the other surface of the superimposed sheets, means to rotateat least one series of sheet-engaging members with components of motion,at their points of engagement with the sheet, which are in alignmentwith the direction of advancing movement of the sheets, roller meanscarrying the first series of sheet-engaging members and having an axisof rotation parallel to the advancing sheet, and moving belt means toadvance the sheets edgewise into the sheet-separating members, said beltmeans comprising a series of relatively narrow belt portions passingover the roller between the sheet-engaging members carried thereby.

3. A sheet separating device for separating a pair of superimposedsheets advancing edgewise, a first series of laterally spaced annularsheet-engaging members mounted to engage one surface of the advancingsuperimposed sheets, a second series of sheet-engaging members mountedto engage the other surface of the superimposed sheets, means to rotateat least one series of sheet-engaging members with components of motion,at their points of engagement with the sheet, which are in alignmentwith the direction of advancing movement of the sheets, and air jetmeans disposed behind the sheet-engaging members in the direction ofsheet "advancement to direct air jets backwardly through thesheet-engaging members at the advancing edge of the superimposed sheets.

4. A sheet separating device for separating a pair of superimposedsheets advancing edgewise, a first series of laterally spaced annularsheet-engaging members mounted to engage one surface of the advancingsuperimposed sheets, a second series of sheet-engaging members mountedto engage the other surface of the superimposed sheets, and means torotate at least one series of sheet-engaging members with components ofmotion, at their points of engagement with the sheet, which are inalignment with the direction of advancing movement of the sheets, saidfirst and second series of sheet engaging members comprising parallel,laterally ofiset discs having peripheral portions formed ofhigh-friction material.

5. A sheet separating device according to claim 1 including means torotate the sheet engaging members of the first and second series in thesame angular direction, the second series of members being disposed inpairs each pair being spaced apart laterally to receive the peripheralportion of one sheet engaging member of the first series.

6. In a printing machine, sheet feeding means to carry a sheet ofsensitized paper and a sheet to be copied through the machine insuperimposed, face to face relationship, said feeding means includingbelt means made up of a plurality of relatively narrow belt portionsdisposed side by side with a space between each pair, a roller overwhich the belt means move, means to establish an air pressuredifferential across the belt means to hold the sheets against the beltmeans, a first series of annular sheetengaging members carried by theroller and extending radially outwardly therefrom to pass through thesaid spaces between belt portions, and a second series of sheet engagingmembers disposed next to the roller and movable relatively thereto tocounter the motion of the adjacent belt means and first series ofannular sheet-engaging members to define, in conjunction with the sheetengaging sheet-receiving channel, whereby second series ofsheet-engaging members engage the outermost surfaces respectively of thesuperimposed sheets to cause one sheet to be forced through the sheetreceivchannel and to cause the ing lapping first and second series ofmembers causing the to impart stiffness thereto.

8. A printing machine in cluding means to establish across the beltmeans adjacent to hold the sheets thereagainst.

9. A printing m'achi air jets between the sheetadvancing edge of thesupe accordance with claim 7 inan air pressure differential thesheet-receiving channel ne in accordance with claim 7 insheet movementto direct engaging members toward the rimposed sheets.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS LotzWermes Payne Van den Broek Dec. 2, 1924 May 10, 1927 Oct. 7, 1941 Apr.27, 1943

